Tag Archives: Kaijin

30 Fun Zeiram Facts for Zeiram’s 30th Birthday

Posted on December 19, 2021 by kevnder

2021’s been quite a year for franchise anniversaries! We kicked it off with some retrospective trivia for the 50th anniversary of Spectreman, had galleries for the 50th anniversaries of Kamen Rider and Godzilla vs Hedorah, and did a panel for … Continue reading →

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Halloween Hijinks: Japanese “Slasher Monster” Movies

Posted on October 30, 2021 by kevnder

It’s almost Halloween, which means it’s time for an annual tradition at Maser Patrol: a recap of a horror-related trope or subgenre in Japanese entertainment! We’ve talked in the past about body horror, kaiju horror, horror anime, horror movies from … Continue reading →

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Thirteen Japanese Jasons for Friday the 13th

Posted on August 13, 2021 by kevnder

Compared to other major occidental holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Halloween has been notably slow to pick up momentum in Japan. The reason for this is mainly that Japan already has a spooky season: the summer, culminating in their … Continue reading →

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Random Tokusatsu rapid five-in-one

Posted on June 15, 2014 by kevnder

I’ve been really lax on the Today’s Random Tokusatsu movie segments as of late; apologies to anyone particularly looking forward to them. I figured I’d try to make up for that a little with quick thoughts about five of the … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Uzumaki (2000)

Posted on March 19, 2014 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Uzumaki (2000, dir. Higuchinsky) Subgenre: Kaidan Available from: Discotek Uzumaki (meaning “spiral/vortex”, but not to be confused with Ring sequel Rasen, which also means “spiral”) is based on a manga by Junji Ito, so if you’re familiar with his … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Tomie (1999)

Posted on February 14, 2014 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Tomie (1999, dir. Ataru Oikawa) Subgenre: Kaidan Available from: Adness Tomie is probably the biggest modern Japanese horror franchise that hasn’t had some sort of American remake treatment (though I’m sure School of Ghosts fans may want to … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Full Metal Yakuza (1997)

Posted on December 14, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Full Metal Yakuza (1997, dir. Takashi Miike) Subgenre: Kaijin Available from: Arts Magic Full Metal Yakuza is a hybrid film, partly a Frankenstein-ish monster robot hero, partly a gangster movie, and because of that, it’s likely to alienate … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Goke, The Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)

Posted on October 20, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Goke, the Body Snatcher from Hell (1968, dir. Hajime Sato) Subgenre: Kaijin Available from: Criterion To start, let’s just clarify that nobody in this movie is from Hell, and the body-snatching is more of the “Invasion of-” than … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Body of the Prey (1968)

Posted on September 26, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: The Body of the Prey (1968, dir. Kenneth Crane) Subgenre: Kaijin Available from: Public domain Notes: This movie might not technically be considered Japanese, depending on circumstances Reposting from an old review: The Body of the Prey is … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Wolf Guy – Enraged Lycanthrope (1975)

Posted on September 8, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Wolf Guy: Enraged Lycanthrope (1975, dir. Kazuhiko Yamaguchi) Subgenre: Martial Arts, Kaijin Available from: fansub-only Reposting an old review from my previous ‘blog: The official international title for this movie seems to be Howl the Wolf-Man, but since … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Dragon Blue (1996)

Posted on August 16, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Dragon Blue (1996, dir. Takuya Wada) Subgenre: Kaijin Available from: ADV I already wrote about this movie once for a previous ‘blog, so I’ll just copy-and-paste: There’s a misperception in the North American anime community that the recently-formed … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Tetsuo the Bullet Man (2009)

Posted on July 29, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Tetsuo the Bullet Man (2009, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto) Subgenre: Body Horror, Kaijin Available from: MPI I already wrote about this movie years ago for a previous ‘blog, so I’ll just copy-and-paste: The Bullet Man is the second reworking … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Alive (2002)

Posted on July 10, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Alive (2002, dir. Ryuhei Kitamura) Subgenre: Kaijin, Esper Available from: Media Blasters Alive was Kitamura’s follow-up after breaking into the spotlight with Versus in 2002. It follows Versus in that it’s also stylish, with thumping techno score, muted … Continue reading →

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Today’s Random Tokusatsu: Matango (1963)

Posted on June 22, 2013 by kevnder

Today’s selection: Matango (1963, dir. Ishiro Honda) Subgenre: Kaijin Available from: Media Blasters Based on the William Hope Hodgson story “The Voice in the Night”, Matango (AKA Attack of the Mushroom People) is the third of Honda’s loosely-thematically-connected “mutant trilogy”, … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Henge (dir. Hajime Ohata, 2011)

Posted on May 6, 2013 by kevnder

“Henge” translates to “metamorphosis”, but the movie bearing that name feels more akin to Cronenberg’s The Fly filtered through Tetsuo the Iron Man than to anything Kafka ever wrote. The story is that of Keiko and her husband Yoshiaki’s marital … Continue reading →

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